ROCKINGHAM — Art and baking come together for Bambi Provenzano, who bakes out of her home and sells her treats at Nectar Coffee Shop, located in The Hive Recreation Center on Rockingham Road.
Provenzano started Kool Kakes eight years ago, but moved to Florida for roughly eight months before coming back to Rockingham.
“I started baking cakes for kids and friends and people wanted to pay me for cakes — which is crazy,” she said of her baking beginnings.
She teaches art classes at The Hive noticed the coffee shop didn’t offer any kinds of baked goods. So she offered up her service to owner Rebecca Sparks.
“I said you could probably use some baked goods, and she said absolutely,” Provenzano said of Sparks.
She has only been back in Richmond County for a year and a half and is originally from New York. That’s why she relies on her partner, Jennifer Thomas, to help give her product a Southern flair.
“She’s my source of love and support,” said Provenzano.
The duo only started providing Nectar with sweets a couple of weeks ago, but they’ve found themselves dropping off cakes, cupcakes and other items every two or three days due to the treats’ popularity.
“They sell cinnamon rolls every Saturday,” Provenzano said. “We’ve had to double the order this week. It’s a good outlet for us, but it’s good for Nectar, too.”
Besides cinnamon rolls, Kool Kakes also offer custom cakes, “lollikakes” and “lollikones,” cookie cakes, cookies and bars, gift baskets and trays and will cater for events such as weddings and baby showers.
The Kool Kakes owner said her ultimate goal is to take over the former bakery that used to sit downtown on the corner of Harrington Square. It’s been a dream of hers ever since she started baking.
“I saw that place on the corner and at that point I wasn’t even decorating cakes,” she said. “I’d like to help with building up downtown. I’d like to make it a bakery and a local hangout for people to sit and have a cup of coffee. It would give the community something to do with their kids. All the things we didn’t have when we were kids. It would be something to do and a comfortable place to be.”
For more information, visit the Kool Kakes page on Facebook, call 910-995-6889 or email [email protected].
Reach reporter Matt Harrelson at 910-817-2674 and follow him on Twitter @mattyharrelson.
